Process
First, you will be assigned to a group of 5-6 students. When you get into your group, you will decide which figure from the Revolutionary War era your group will research.

Possible Figures:
Abigail Adams
Alexander Hamilton
Anthony Wayne
Benedict Arnold
Benjamin Franklin
Betsy Ross
Beverley Robinson, Sr.
Catharine Sedgwick
Catherine Ferguson
Charles Cornwallis
Dolley Madison
Francis Marion
General Gage
George Washington
Governor Hutchinson
Henry Clinton
Henry Knox
James Madison
James Monroe
John Adams
John Hancock
John Jay
John Paul Jones
Joseph Brant
Lucretia Mott
Martha Washington
Mary Ball Washington
Mary Philipse
Mercy Warren
Molly Pitcher
Nathanael Greene
Nathan Hale
Patrick Henry
Phillip Warren
Phyllis Wheatley
Samuel Adams
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Paine

Next, your group will begin to brainstorm ideas for the presentation and debate. To do so, your group will visit the websites or utilize the books listed in the Resources section below to become more familiar with the information that can be used as the basis of the presentation.
To finish the rest of the project, each group member will need to choose one of the following positions:
  • Costumer/Taskmaster: Research the era to make sure that the actor has a costume appropriate for the historical figure he or she is depicting; may find costume resources from local drama departments. Keep track of time during group work and group on the task at hand. Also, make sure deadlines are met.
  • Historian (2): Research the era, noting information that can be used by the speechwriters, the costumer, and the actor. Make/delegate prop production and evaluate props for authenticity. Use props, if needed, to depict setting.
  • Speechwriter (2): Type the actor’s script and record the group’s effort during brainstorming and research sessions. Also, use quotations from the novel in speech as appropriate.
  • Speaker: Responsible for knowing lines and presenting the culmination of the group’s effort at research in the presentation and debate.

Each member of the team will additionally be responsible for the creation of an I-Search report on the process that he or she went through from the beginning of research to the culminating presentation. As part of the presentation, each group member will state a summary of their role prior to the actor performing in front of class.



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